POLICE arrested a 28-year-old man after he was beaten by a mob in Tshepong in the Vaal on Sunday, 21 August.
The man, who was accused of stealing two plasma TVs, was caught by angry residents and assaulted.
Residents claimed the man is a notorious kasi thief.
A community leader said the young man had been beaten more than five times this year for allegedly stealing people’s property and using the money to fund his smoking habit.
A woman, who claimed that the suspect together with his friend stole her TVs, said she was at work on Friday, 20 August, when her neighbours told her they saw the young men in her property.
When she got home in the evening, her door was broken and her two TVs were nowhere to be found.
“The community decided to hunt down the thieves. One was caught and the other ran away,” she said.
The suspect was found by angry residents while sleeping at his home.
A resident, Oupa Phadi (56), said residents took matters into their own hands because the justice system was failing them.
“This boy is always getting caught with evidence but he has never stayed in jail,” he said.
In May 2022, the suspect and his friends allegedly stole a bed and furniture from another shack.
“He was caught with evidence and the cops were called. But days later, he was back again,” said Oupa.
He said the community was fed up with the young man.
Sergeant Maria Letsele said cops were called to a scene where a young man was being beaten by angry community members, accusing him of stealing two TVs.
Letsele said the suspect was rescued by De Deur police and was taken to hospital for medical treatment.
Letsele pleaded with community members not to take the law into their own hands and report criminals to the police.
